


Party Favour

by Bakubro



Category: Grojband
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27431710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bakubro/pseuds/Bakubro
Summary: Laney Penn's longstanding crush on Corey is tragically unrequited.
Relationships: Corey Riffin/Original Character(s), Laney Penn/Corey Riffin
Kudos: 11





	Party Favour

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote as a bit of a vent. Sorry if the characterization is off.
> 
> Also, the OC mentioned isn't some cringey self-insert or anything, just a simple placeholder don't worry.

Laney never took Corey as the romantic type. She always found him to be far too blunt and, well, oblivious. His head was totally in the clouds, the complete opposite of herself. Despite all that, she knew people said opposites attract for a reason. She’d quickly fallen in love with the airheaded blue-haired boy she called her best friend.  
She felt as though they had been through it all together. The good and bad. His crazy ideas and plans, all the way to his adoptive father’s funeral. The redhead found it hard to comfort Corey despite their closeness, having never dealt with the loss of a loved one. Especially not as close as a parent. She had sat with him in the car ride home, her parents knowing that she wanted to be there for him the best she could. It was silent. Trina had the radio turned off and all that could be heard was the occasional horn honking and tires moving across rough concrete.  
Laney snuck a quick glance at Corey who was looking out the window, his expression unreadable. Now, they had been only 16, and she knew he hadn’t taken the news well. He didn’t even want to perform at his funeral. She gently placed her hand atop his. He was so still she wasn’t even sure if he was even aware of what happened until he turned his head to look at her with a puzzled expression. “I love you,” she said without really thinking. It wasn’t the first time she’d said those words to him, far from it, but something in her felt like now was the right time to say it with a meaning that was entirely different. How selfish, she thought now.  
“..Yeah,” Corey mumbled, averting his gaze and gently pulling his hand back into his lap. Laney wanted to say something else, anything to break the awkward silence that had begun to engulf them. “Laney,” Trina called, looking back to the redhead with an indifferent look in her eyes. “Huh?” Laney said, wondering if she had said one of her racing thoughts aloud without realizing it. “We’re here.” She deadpanned. They were parked on the street in front of Laney’s house. She nodded a lump in her throat after embarrassing herself twice in less than five minutes. Laney left the car without saying goodbye to Corey and only a quiet thanks for the ride home.

A few months had passed without a mention of what happened that car ride home. Laney eventually stopped worrying about it, passing it off as Corey still being overwhelmed with the current situation. That until he asked her to stay behind after band practice one fateful day, claiming he had something to ask her. It wasn’t uncommon for her to stay after the twins had gone home for the day but the expression Corey wore was something she hadn’t ever seen before, and suddenly she felt a pit grow in the depths of her stomach.  
He motions for her to take a seat on the couch, which she obliges to and he quickly does the same, sitting a considerate distance away from her. “Laney, you said something a while ago that’s… been on my mind lately,” he said. He was staring at the floor, or maybe his shoes, either way, his expression hadn’t changed. “Oh, what was it?” Laney questioned, although she knew exactly what it was and she hoped Corey couldn’t hear the tremor in her voice. “You said you loved me, on the way home from…” He trailed off, “... and I was thinking about it.”  
Laney swallowed hard. “H-how come? We always say that to each other,” She wasn’t a great actor and it was then that Corey finally met her gaze. “I know it was different.” He stated. “I know you… feel strongly for me,” She could tell he was visibly uncomfortable. Before she had the chance to defend herself Corey began speaking again, “and I don’t want to hurt you.” He averted his gaze back to the floor. “What do you mean?” Laney asked quietly. She felt chills creep up her back, the hairs on the back of her neck standing as she nervously played with the hem of her shirt. He shifted in his spot on the couch.  
“I don’t want to give you the wrong idea. O-or anything like that, um…” Silence filled the room, thick and tense. Laney knew what he meant. A thousand scenarios like this had played in her head before, and she couldn’t even bring herself to be shocked by his words. He opened his mouth to speak again but she beat him to it this time, “you don’t feel the same.” She was the one to stare down at the floor this time and could see Corey look up at her from her peripheral vision. He sighed as if he didn’t want to believe it either and nodded his head slowly. “I… I’m sorry Lanes.” She could only bite the inside of her cheek and stare down at the floor as if the popcorn that spilled from last night’s movie night was the most interesting thing in the world.  
After what felt like a good two minutes of the most deafening silence she rose from her seat and awkwardly smiled down at him. “It’s okay Core,” Laney said. Picking up her bass which laid abandoned near the garage door in its case she spoke again, “see you tomorrow.” Corey swallowed, standing up too.”Yeah… see you.” She closed the garage door behind her before he could finish.

A year had passed since the painfully slow conversation took place. Laney hadn’t shown up to band practice the following day after all, which didn’t surprise Corey. He expected their friendship to be a little tense for a while. Eventually, things were back to normal. They had started the senior year not too long ago, and it wasn’t until a lunch period in mid-October did Corey break the news that he had been seeing someone over the summer. The twins were understandably excited for him, and Laney tried to be too. But something about the look she caught Corey giving her from the corner of her eye when he broke the news made her feel uneasy.  
She wasn’t really listening to the questions the twins were shouting at him left and right or the answers that followed. It wasn’t until Kin nudged her side did she finally look up at Corey. “Lanes?” He gave her a soft look. It only made her uneasiness worse. “What,” she said. It didn’t sound like much of a question and she immediately regretted saying anything at all when he looked dejectedly down at the sandwich in his hands. “Ah, I-I’m happy for you Core. ‘ts about time you put yourself out there,” Laney said playfully, trying to salvage the conversation. Kon, realizing the awkwardness creeping up, clapped Corey on the back in agreement.  
Corey seemed distracted though, staring off at something or someone behind her before giving a small wave and bashful smile. She turned, the mirth draining from her eyes completely as she realized who he was looking at. A pretty brunette girl, sitting a couple of tables away from them who was giggling and waving back at Corey with excitement. Laney instantly felt a pang of jealousy before she quashed the thought and turned back to her lunch, which suddenly looked a lot less appetizing. 

It wasn’t long before that girl started showing up at band practices. Laney learned her name was Erica and Corey met her in his junior year English class. She was a shy girl who was practically hiding behind Corey when he first introduced them to her. Laney knew she wasn’t exactly the most approachable person in the world, but she was _especially _nervous around her. The redhead passed it off as her simply being intimidated by another girl who was close to her boyfriend and thought nothing of it. Now, it wasn’t like she had quite gotten over Corey yet, in fact, she still got quite flustered when he was too close. She had just learned to smother it down inside her, like some kind of secret she kept in her bones. Regardless of how much it hurt to see the other girl constantly glued to Corey’s side, Laney figured it was probably good for her. For both of them.  
Christmas was nearing and Laney planned to spend Christmas Eve’s at Corey’s house, a tradition they had been holding for almost 10 years. This year was a little different though since Erica was around. They watched movies and got a little tipsy on some spiked eggnog Trina had, albeit begrudgingly, purchased for them. Laney forfeited her usual spot next to Corey on the couch in favour of Erica, who gratefully accepted and curled up next to him. The garage wasn’t exactly well insulated, to begin with.  
Laney sat by herself on a chair Corey bright down from the living room, a blanket wrapped around her as she tried to ignore Erica’s tipsy giggles and friskiness. She could only imagine what she was doing under the blanket with Corey occasionally shifting in his seat. Kin and Kon must’ve noticed it too because they shared a look with Laney from across the room. It almost looked pitiful, and she rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the movie that was being projected on the wall from a small projector Kin brought with him. It wasn’t long before the twins took their leave, earlier than the previous years, claiming they had something to do this time around and needed to be home. Kin shot one last look in Laney’s direction before going to face the harsh winter, but she wasn’t looking, too busy starring down into her mug of hot cocoa.__

____

____

Laney wasn’t quite sure how long it had been since the twins left or when the giggling and muffled grunts stopped, but it was silent, the movie’s credits flitting across the screen accompanied by peppy holiday music. She looked over to the vacant seats Kin and Kon once occupied before looking over to Corey. Erica had fallen asleep, her head in his lap. He was playing with her hair, smiling softly to himself. Laney felt another bit of jealousy before she abruptly stood which caused Corey to look over at her curiously. “I gotta use the bathroom,” she muttered quickly before darting up the stairs. It was only when she was behind the locked door of Corey’s upstairs bathroom did she allow herself to break down. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she did her best to stifle her sobs. Although, she didn’t think Corey would hear anyways.  
She slid down the back of the door and pulled her knees up to her chest. It had been building up for longer than she realized, almost overflowing at the worst possible moments. Something about the smile he wore, staring adoringly down at this girl he’d met only months after the painstaking news. The blackened teardrops would surely show on her white top, but it wasn’t like she was planning to stick around for that much longer anyway. It had been ten, maybe fifteen minutes since she left for the bathroom, the party long-forgotten downstairs in the garage. A small knock on the door behind her nearly made her jump out of her skin. She immediately knew who it was.  
“Lanes?” Came a soft voice, as if he knew exactly what was happening. Laney wasn’t sure what to say but before she could respond at all there was a twist of the knob. It didn’t open due to Laney locking it behind her. “Open the door, Laney,” he said. She slowly rose to her feet, a little unsteady before looking at herself in the mirror. Despite her makeup being mostly waterproof, there were still drying black streaks coating her rosy cheeks. Before Corey had the chance to ask again, she unlocked the door and opened it just enough for him to be able to see her. Staring down at the floor, she hoped that her bangs would hide the mess she had made. “What?” She barely spoke above a whisper, her voice groggy from crying.

There was a pause as if Corey hadn’t planned for her to open the door and hadn’t thought of what to say yet. She hated every second of the silence, it reminding her of the way her heartbeat pounded in her ears when he broke the truth to her. It was then she felt a warm hand on her chin as he gently made her look up at him. Laney had almost forgotten how tall he’d gotten over the years, standing at a whopping 6’1, while she stood at an embarrassing 4’11. She bit the inside of her cheek as she had before as she attempted to keep her lip from quivering. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. Laney shook her head, his hand still resting on her chin. “Don’t apologize, p-please…” She squeaked. “It’ll only make it harder.” Corey let his hand drop back to his side as he let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding in. She tried to ignore the fading warmth of where his hand once was as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Okay.” He finally breathed out.  
“She’s probably waiting-” “She’s asleep.” Corey cut her off. “So? What if she wakes up a-and thinks-” _“Laney.” _That shut her up real fast. The tone he only used when he was extremely serious. “You’re hurting,” he said. She didn’t say anything and weakly shrugged her shoulders. What did he think he could do about it, she thought. He wouldn’t just magically dump his girlfriend and fall in love with her. Only in a bad movie, maybe. She then felt strong arms pull her closer until her face was flush against his chest. Laney wanted to protest but her voice was caught in her throat. He rested his chin on her head and that was when the tears started again. She sobbed, the pained cries racking her entire frail body. She held on tightly to the back of his shirt as if he would disappear if she let go.  
“Core…” She whimpered. He didn’t say anything and rubbed her back reassuringly, his large hands sending a shiver up her spine. It was everything she had hoped for, what she fantasized about for years, but never in these circumstances. She swallowed her pride, completely sinking into him as she cried. Heart hurting and her head spinning, the only thing she could muster out was a pained and pitiful call for help:__

____

____

_“Corey...”_


End file.
